Investors - More workers joined the federal government's disability program in June than got new jobs, according to two new government reports, a clear indicator of how bleak the nation's jobs picture is after three full years of economic recovery.The economy created just 80,000 jobs in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. But that same month, 85,000 workers left the workforce entirely to enroll in the Social Security Disability Insurance program, according to the Social Security Administration.

The disability ranks have outpaced job growth throughout President Obama's economic recovery. While the economy has created 2.6 million jobs since June 2009, fully 3.1 million workers signed up for disability benefits.

In other words, the number of new disability enrollees has climbed 19% faster than the number of new jobs created during the sluggish recovery. (Even after accounting for people who left the disability program because they died or aged into retirement, the disability ranks have climbed more than 1.1 million in the past three years.) Read full story here: News New Mexico

American Workers More Likely to Get on Disability Than Find a Job Since Obama Inauguration

Bloomberg - American employers added fewer workers to payrolls than forecast in June and the jobless rate stayed at 8.2 percent as the economic outlook dimmed. Payrolls rose 80,000 last month after a 77,000 increase in May, Labor Department figures showed today. The unemployment rate held at 8.2 percent. Economists projected a 100,000 rise, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Growth in private payrolls was the weakest in 10 months.
Stocks fell on concern hiring has shifted into a lower gear, restricting consumer spending and leaving the economy more vulnerable to a global slowdown. The figures underscore concern among some Federal Reserve policy makers that growth isn’t fast enough to lower unemployment stuck above 8 percent since February 2009.

“The job market is soft,” said David Resler, chief economic adviser at Nomura Securities International Inc., who correctly forecast the payrolls gain. “I’d characterize our reaction as much the same way the Fed will react -- not surprised but disappointed. It’s just not the kind of growth we need to see at this stage in the business cycle.” Read full story here: News New Mexico

According to the Albuquerque Journal, District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco of Santa Fe, who was appointed the special prosecutor for Second Judicial District Pat Murdoch's rape case, says her office is still reviewing ëvidence involving a retired Albuquerque criminal judge accused and later cleared of raping a prostitute. Pacheco was appointed as special prosecutor days after Murdoch's arrest in July 2011. Why this D.A. would announce she is reviewing new evidence instead of simply reviewing it is anybody's guess.

Commentary by Jim Spence - You knew Santa Fe lawyer and partisan progressive Democrat Brian Egolf wasn't going to be able to refrain from whining when Governor Susana Martinez used savings from her operating budget to replace aging dilapidated chairs in the governor's offices. It would seem that Egolf is still miffed that Martinez told Santa Fe County to use it's own money to furnish their new District Court Building after she vetoed state money earmarked for the local judges and lawyers furnishings.
Egolf was quoted by the Santa Fe New Mexican, “It certainly seems unfortunate that if she is spending money on herself, then it’s worth it, but if she’s going to spend money on the court and the judges, she thinks it’s not worth it.”
Spending money on herself? Martinez was making a choice on her priorities within the governor's operating budget. The "chairs" won't go with the governor when she leaves office. The question should be what source of funds should be used for Santa Fe, the county's own funds? Or the state funds?

The fact that Egolf would choose to speak about this when he has ignored a real case of state government spending taxpayer dollars for personal/private purposes is amazing. Egolf and his colleagues have been curiously silent on $20 million in Santa Fe County and state money that was GIVEN to a private movie studio that just happened to be co-owned by current Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales a few years ago. Despite repeated requests from media members representing the entire philosophical spectrum, no disclosure whatsoever has ever been provided by Gonzales after being on the receiving end of this massive taxpayer giveaway to Santa Fe Studios. One can only wonder how much furniture could be bought for the new courthouse in Santa Fe with the $10 million state cash grant handed to Gonzales and friends, not to mention the $5 million of county government-backed loans, free land, free utilities hookups, etc. provided by taxpayers.
Maybe Brian Egolf will find it fitting to finally comment on the Santa Fe Studios situation someday when he calms down over the new chairs bought for the governor's office.......out of the governor's operating budget.

Egolf: Silent on Santa Fe Studios but Outraged at Governor Replacing Chairs on 4th Floor With Her Budget